Definition of Dot Product

v→,w→∈Rnv→⋅w→=<v→,w→>=v→Tw→=v1w1+v2w2+...+vnwnExample: v→=(12),u→=(34),u→⋅v→=1∗3+2∗4=11\overrightarrow{v}, \overrightarrow{w} \in \mathbb{R}^n \\ \overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{w} = <\overrightarrow{v}, \overrightarrow{w}> = \overrightarrow{v}^T \overrightarrow{w} = v_1 w_1 + v_2 w_2 + ... + v_n w_n \\ \text{Example: } \overrightarrow{v} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ 2 \end{pmatrix}, \overrightarrow{u} = \begin{pmatrix} 3 \\ 4 \end{pmatrix}, \overrightarrow{u} \cdot \overrightarrow{v} = 1 * 3 + 2 * 4 = 11 \\

Properties of Dot Products

v→⋅w→=w→⋅v→(u→+v→)⋅w→=u→⋅w→+v→⋅w→(λu→)⋅v→=λ(u→⋅v→)v→⋅v→≥0,v→⋅v→=0  ⟺  v→=0\overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{w} = \overrightarrow{w} \cdot \overrightarrow{v} \\ (\overrightarrow{u} + \overrightarrow{v}) \cdot \overrightarrow{w} = \overrightarrow{u} \cdot \overrightarrow{w} + \overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{w} \\ (\lambda \overrightarrow{u}) \cdot \overrightarrow{v} = \lambda (\overrightarrow{u} \cdot \overrightarrow{v}) \\ \overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{v} \geq 0, \overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{v} = 0 \iff \overrightarrow{v} = 0

Dot Products as Lengths/Norms

∣∣v→∣∣=v→⋅v→=v12+v22+...+vn2Examples: v→=(123),∣∣v→∣∣=12+22+32=14u→=(111),∣∣u→∣∣=12+12+12=3w→=(34),∣∣w→∣∣=32+42=25=5|| \overrightarrow{v} || = \sqrt{\overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{v}} = \sqrt{v_1^2 + v_2^2 + ... + v_n^2} \\ \text{Examples: } \\ \overrightarrow{v} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ 2 \\ 3 \end{pmatrix}, ||\overrightarrow{v}|| = \sqrt{1^2 + 2^2 + 3^2} = \sqrt{14} \\ \overrightarrow{u} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ 1 \\ 1 \end{pmatrix}, ||\overrightarrow{u}|| = \sqrt{1^2 + 1^2 + 1^2} = \sqrt{3} \\ \overrightarrow{w} = \begin{pmatrix} 3 \\ 4 \end{pmatrix}, ||\overrightarrow{w}|| = \sqrt{3^2 + 4^2} = \sqrt{25} = 5 \\

Applications

v→∈Rn, the normalized vector‾ v^=1∣∣v→∣∣⋅v→∣∣v^∣∣=∣∣1∣∣v→∣∣⋅v→∣∣=1∣∣v→∣∣⋅∣∣v→∣∣=1Example: u→=(111),u^=13⋅(111)Note that ∣∣λv→∣∣=∣λ∣⋅∣∣v→∣∣For v→,w→∈Rn, the distance between v and w is ∣∣v→−w→∣∣\overrightarrow{v} \in \mathbb{R}^n, \text{ the \underline{normalized vector} } \hat{v} = \frac{1}{||\overrightarrow{v}||} \cdot \overrightarrow{v} \\ ||\hat{v}|| = || \frac{1}{||\overrightarrow{v}||} \cdot \overrightarrow{v} || = \frac{1}{||\overrightarrow{v}||} \cdot ||\overrightarrow{v}|| = 1 \\ \text{Example: } \overrightarrow{u} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ 1 \\ 1 \end{pmatrix}, \hat{u} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} \cdot \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ 1 \\ 1 \end{pmatrix} \\ \text{Note that } || \lambda \overrightarrow{v} || = | \lambda | \cdot || \overrightarrow{v} || \\ \text{For } \overrightarrow{v}, \overrightarrow{w} \in \mathbb{R}^n, \text{ the distance between v and w is } || \overrightarrow{v} - \overrightarrow{w} ||

Orthogonal Vectors

v→,w→∈Rn are orthogonal if v→⋅w→=0, often denoted as v→⊥w→Example: v→=(11),w→=(1−1),v→⋅w→=1∗1−1∗1=0;v→⊥w→\overrightarrow{v}, \overrightarrow{w} \in \mathbb{R}^n \text{ are orthogonal if } \overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{w} = 0 \text{, often denoted as } \overrightarrow{v} \perp \overrightarrow{w} \\ \text{Example: } \overrightarrow{v} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ 1 \end{pmatrix}, \overrightarrow{w} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ -1 \end{pmatrix}, \overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{w} = 1 * 1 - 1 * 1 = 0; \overrightarrow{v} \perp \overrightarrow{w}

Important Inequalities and Equalities

Traingle Inequality: ∣∣v→+w→∣∣≤∣∣v→∣∣+∣∣w→∣∣Pythagorean Theorem: If v→⊥w→, then ∣∣v→+w→∣∣2=∣∣v→∣∣2+∣∣w→∣∣2Parallelogram Law: ∣∣v→+w→∣∣2+∣∣v→−w→∣∣2=2∣∣v→∣∣2+2∣∣w→∣∣2Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality: ∣v→⋅w→∣≤∣∣v→∣∣⋅∣∣w→∣∣\text{Traingle Inequality: } || \overrightarrow{v} + \overrightarrow{w} || \leq || \overrightarrow{v} || + || \overrightarrow{w} || \\ \text{Pythagorean Theorem: If } \overrightarrow{v} \perp \overrightarrow{w} \text{, then } || \overrightarrow{v} + \overrightarrow{w} ||^2 = || \overrightarrow{v} ||^2 + || \overrightarrow{w} ||^2 \\ \text{Parallelogram Law: } || \overrightarrow{v} + \overrightarrow{w} ||^2 + || \overrightarrow{v} - \overrightarrow{w} ||^2 = 2|| \overrightarrow{v} ||^2 + 2|| \overrightarrow{w} ||^2 \\ \text{Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality: } | \overrightarrow{v} \cdot \overrightarrow{w} | \leq || \overrightarrow{v} || \cdot || \overrightarrow{w} ||